BMW on Tuesday announced a new Project i unit that will work independently of BMW and whose mission it will be to produce low-emission city cars, similar to the Smart Fortwo. Norbert Reithofer, BMW CEO, said Project i will deal with meeting strict emissions requirements that would allow its cars free access into busy towns and cities, such as the downtown core in London, UK. Reithofer went on to say a fourth brand could be in the cards, if the product doesn’t fit under any of BMW’s current brands. Could this lead to an Isetta revival?
“We must define what type of vehicles we will produce then we will ask the question if those concepts fit better with the BMW brand, the Mini brand or a sub brand within those two,” Reithofer said. “If none of these options are possible then perhaps we will have a fourth brand.” Project i is expected to produce a city car early into the next decade, with a decision on whether BMW will build an electric car for the US market coming this year, according to Auto Motor und Sport.
BMW sold 1,400 cars in India last year, and wants to increase that number to 3,000 in 2008 and it stands to reason a new micro-car would enter new markets such as India’s, where it would be a costlier alternative to Tata’s Nano.
03/18, 4:20 PM
posted by:
RicardoHead
I clicked on the ads just because someone says not to. Not a fan of the preachy types, plus as annoying as the comments are elsewhere I am big fan of freedom of speech and hate political correctness that panders to the intellectually weak.
Now, BMW, gimme an Isetta you chumps!
03/18, 4:24 PM
posted by:
buenos
RicardoHead… you missed the antics that were going on earlier. Luckily someone at LLN has actually responded to the postings that were showing up earlier. As much as I agree with freedom of speech, I draw the line at identity theft, and slander.
03/18, 4:24 PM
posted by:
RicardoHead
And for the record, Eiji, my handle has been copped and I don’t care. If someone hates me because someone else copped my handle, fine. It’s a bunch of thread on a website, where I shoot off an opinion, a fact, a thought, or a joke, and if people here hate me or not is irrelevant because in truth nobody here is particularly important to me. Just as I seriously doubt I matter to you.
Now I’m gonna click more ads.
03/18, 4:28 PM
posted by:
RicardoHead
Buenos,I have seen those antics here for a week. It’s comical.
Now, identity theft of a nickname, and slandering a nickname? Please – that’s gotta be a joke. If you were on 60 Minutes saying masquerading as “Ricardo Head” and saying the horrible, perverse things posted elsewhere here, you really think I would be feeling slandered or that my ID was violated?
03/18, 4:39 PM
posted by:
Pro_Lapse
Its not theft or hacking of an account, you can change your nickname to anything you want to.
03/18, 4:40 PM
posted by:
buenos
I think RicardoHead had a really cute butt.
See I just did it to your buenos
03/18, 4:56 PM
posted by:
RicardoHead
Had?
03/18, 5:04 PM
posted by:
Pro_Lapse
You’ve put on tons of weight recently RicardoHead
03/18, 5:30 PM
posted by:
EijiO1
We have to keep up on this or else it’ll get as bad or worse even faster. Until then.
Eyes open and have fun… but not at anyone else’s undue expense.
03/18, 5:30 PM
posted by:
jjayc08
Hey. It’s not that big of a deal, but I’d rather talk about cars then some stupid spam crap about a guy sticking his peter in some cats ass. LLN simply needs to block a few users, that’s all I’m asking. Otherwise, there are plenty of other sites that I can go to, all it takes is a click.
03/18, 5:36 PM
posted by:
buenos
Ricardohead. Fine, perhaps slander is too strong a word, however, words have weight, and freedom of speech comes with a few things that most people seem to forget: responsibility, accountability and sometimes consequences.
I can only hope, as you defend their right to freedom of speech that you are equally willing to defend my right to exercise mine, by contacting the moderators, and by contacting the advertisers.
Enjoy your evening.
03/18, 5:36 PM
posted by:
buenos
and btw… I don’t think you’ve put on weight.
03/18, 5:57 PM
posted by:
A4
well that was kind of gay
03/18, 6:17 PM
posted by:
zoomzoomr
It’s encouraging that they called it “project i”.. with tiny cars like the ForTwo and Toyota iQ looking to become status quo in the US over the next decade, it makes sense for BMW to revive the unique Isetta! Hope they can figure out how to make it crash-friendly
03/18, 8:18 PM
posted by:
eliteski2
What the hell are you guys talking about with the ads?
About the article, I think this is a great idea. Smart has really had the corner on this market till now, and the segment is really taking off around the world. I don’t understand why BMW would make a fourth brand though. This project seems to perfectly fit under the Mini logo. Mini’s are small, fun to drive, city cars. And creating a fourth marque will only cost more money in dealer setup and advertising. To make a mini car not under the Mini header would seem stupid to me.
03/18, 8:46 PM
posted by:
autonut
Smart has no corners on any market. It does not sell in Europe. In US it may be popular with chick crowd in large cities. But why would anyone pay so much for so little is beyond me. You can buy Fit for this money and have better fuel efficiency and something that drives much nicer.
03/18, 10:33 PM
posted by:
howsmydriving
BMW should let Chris Bangle design it, so that it will be uglier even than Smart ForTwo.
03/19, 5:24 PM
posted by:
audi-lover
I HATE BMW!
05/14, 10:35 AM
posted by:
doug11
Depends if BMW will succeed in breaking with the archetypical small car mould. Here’s a suggestion. It was showcased at the Detroit show. It looks spectacular and too me resembles what a reborn Isetta should look like. http://www.tuvie.com/sev-space-efficient-vehicle